


Son of Pluto

by 5aria



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Gen, Happy Nico, M/M, Roman Nico di Angelo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:20:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25029169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/5aria/pseuds/5aria
Summary: Basically a retelling of what it would have been like if Nico was Roman and had joined the legion after the Titan's Curse.
Relationships: Jason Grace/Nico di Angelo
Comments: 6
Kudos: 106





	Son of Pluto

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, I wrote this because I just finished rereading the Heroes of Olympus and this was my biggest what if, but also because I just read this fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2320514/chapters/5109155 and it is amazing. Go read it if you haven't !!

Nico wakes up in a cave. He feels cold all over and his head hurts. He sits up slowly and takes his surroundings. He gets an adrenaline rush when he sees the wolf at the entrance at the cave eyeing him. He’s not sure how but he ends up with his back at the wall looking at the wolf.

For a moment that’s all he does. The wolf doesn’t move an inch, it just stares back. Nico remembers reading about wolves in class once. They’ve got a pack mentality. If you show any weakness they are more likely to attack.

Bianca had once told him a story about a boy who had walked backwards to his village to avoid being Wolf dinner.  _ Bianca _

A sob built up in Nico’s throat and he felt tears in his eyes. He wiped them away and made sure to keep looking at the wolf. He wished Bianca was there. She would have kept him safe.

But she couldn’t even keep herself safe, his mind argued. She’s dead and some part of Nico knew that not even Percy could have helped her. It still helped to blame Percy though. Blaming him, hating him was better than the alternative.

The wolf inched forward. Nico willed himself not to move. He would not die crying or cowering in fear. Maybe.

As the wolf came closer Nico wondered what dying at its hands would feel like. He wondered if he would find peace. If he would see Bianca again.

Then the weirdest thing happened.

“You have passed the first test.” The wolf said, “Do you know who I am?”

Nico stared dumbfounded but the more he stared the more he found he knew the answer. The wolf stared back at him impatiently but thankfully stayed silent.

“You’re Lupa. You have like 200 attack points.”

The wolf, Lupa, snarled. “I am the Roman wolf-goddess, mother of Romulus and Remus. You will cease to refer to that mythomagic game from now on Pup.”

“You know Mythomagic?”

“I have trained many demi-gods like you, young and naive. I have trained all of them to be Roman soldiers.”

Nico blinked.

“Come now, son of Pluto.” Lupa said. “Your second test awaits.”

\------

Over the next few days Nico learned a lot under Lupa’s strict gaze. She was way harsh. At first she reminded Nico a little of Bianca because Bianca was always being a buzzkill but it was because she cared. But Lupa was a lot more harsh than kind.

She would snap easily and if Nico didn’t get something right she’d growl. She seemed intent on making sure Nico knew Rome’s history especially her son’s role in it.

She taught Nico to be extra aware of his surroundings, to trust no one, to be one step ahead and to think like a wolf.

Finally, on the fourth day Nico broke.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, “Rome is dead.”

“Rome never dies. It only shifts to where power is stronger.”

“Like the Greeks and Western civilization.” Nico remembered Camp

“You would have never survived at a greek camp.” Lupa mused. “You have rome’s blood coursing within you.”

“So Rome has a camp like Camp Half-blood?” The wolf-goddess growled at the camp’s name.

“New Rome is surrounded and protected by the twelfth legion. Tomorrow morning I will lead you to New Rome where you will pledge yourself to the legion.”

So, this was the Roman’s camp orientation. Nico thought back to camp-half-bloods pg-13 orientation film and compared it to his time with the wolf-goddess. Camp Half-blood had been nicer, sure, but his time with Lupa had felt right. AT Camp Half-blood he knew the second he passed the borders that he wasn’t supposed to be there. He chalked it up to the fact that Bianca had just joined the hunters and had tried to be excited.

Bianca had pulled him aside before they went on Apollo’s car. She had told him all about the hunters but promised she would visit a lot. Nico had felt hurt but he tried to focus on the good. They had met a god and a goddess. And Percy seemed really cool too. Nico had spent all afternoon asking him questions and if he was going to camp it couldn’t be a bad place.

Those were his reasons for not running when he stepped foot at Camp. He hadn’t known how to explain it. Him being there just felt wrong. Then Bianca had died and he blamed himself. His presence had thrown camp off. He was unnatural. 

That night he didn’t sleep much. He kept wondering if he would feel that way at New Rome. Lupa had hinted that the reason he had felt left out in camp half-blood had been because he was Roman now greek. He would still have to be careful in New Rome though, Lupa had taught him well.

The next day they left at sunrise. Nico stumbled behind Lupa groggily for hours. They didn’t eat breakfast to save time and Nico’s stomach was rumbling by noon. He didn’t dare complain though.

Sometime after sunset they made it to a tunnel. In front of the tunnel were a girl and a boy. The boy had binoculars in his hand and the girl was armed with a boy. Lupa stopped just out of their line of sight.

“Across the bridge is Camp Jupiter, home to New Rome,” she said, “Before I can let you go you must swear on River Styx to not mention the greek camp until the time is right.”

“When will the time be right.”

“You will know. But hopefully never in your lifetime. Greeks and Romans don’t mesh well together. You cannot mention the greeks to the camp but you will play a large part in the greeks these coming years. The fates have decreed it. Your father wished to save you some pain and he brought you here.”

The way she said made it sound like she didn’t agree with her father. Like she found him almost amusing. Nico felt anger rise in him. He never met his father and now he was supposed to believe this was all his idea of  _ helping  _ Nico. He wanted to walk away and refuse his father’s offer but he wasn’t sure if Lupa would let him. Plus he had hated his time underground and his time back above ground, always fighting off monsters.

His dad was the god of the underworld. If he really wanted to help Nico, why didn’t he bring Bianca back? If he really cared, why had he ever let her die in the first place?

“Do you swear, pup?” Lupa asked, her voice laced with threat.

“I swear on River Styx to not mention the Greeks to the Romans until it is necessary.” Nico said.

Lupa nodded, pleased, and then ventured forward. The closer Nico got the more he distinguished the two people at the tunnels.

The girl with the bow was short and dressed in Roman armour. She had black hair and tan skin and a fierce expression that only turned fiercer once she saw them.

The boy also had tanned skin. But he was a lot taller even though he looked thirteen, only two years older than Nico. He looked well built for a thirteen year old too, his shirt hung snug on his chest and arms. He had a tattoo on his forearm; a black eagle with the words  _ spqr  _ and lines underneath. His hair was blonde and he had bright blue eyes that reminded Nico a little of the girl that had brought them to camp half-blood. Nico had been so focused on Percy he hadn’t gotten her name though.

The girl crossed her arms while the boy smiled a little.

“New recruit?” the girl said.

Lupa glared at him. Nico stumbled forward.

“My-my name is Nico Di’Angelo. I wish to join the legion.” he said to the ground.

He heard the girl laugh but when he looked up her face was lit up bright and cheerful.

“Of course you do,” she said before turning to the boy. “Grace. Take the boy down to the predators while I continue watching, yeah?”

The boy nodded. He let a loose smile slip and waved at the wolf. “Bye Lupa.”

Lupa remained stoic as ever but Nico could have sworn he saw her lips curl up before she ran off.

The girl stuck her hand out as Nico passed her. “I’m Gwen. I hope you consider the fifth cohort Nico.”

Nico shook her hand. She had a strong grip. Then he tentatively took the boy's hand.

“Jason Grace,” he said, “It’s really nice to meet you. Where are you from Nico?”

Jason let go of Nico and clapped a hand over his shoulder, leading him through the tunnel. Nico eased out of Jason’s grip and answered his questions slowly. By the time they had made it to camp, though, he and Jason were talking like old friends.

\----

At the end of the day Nico got a bunk in the fifth cohort. He was what they had called on probatio, meaning he had to prove himself to achieve full membership. The predators had gone quiet when he told them his dad was Pluto and the Augur, Ocativan, had practically gone into hysterics.

“Children of Pluto are supposedly bad luck,” Jason had explained later, “But you’re not like that.”

Nico wished he could have agreed with Jason but it seemed that all his life he had been bad luck.

The predators had been hesitant to say whether they would accept him into the legion. The augur had looked seconds away from arguing against Nico even staying alive but then Jason had stood up for Nico. His word apparently had sway. Son of Jupiter, king of Gods, they called him.

Nico’s mind had done dozens of relay races as he thought about how cool Jason was. Outwardly, he tried to play it off as indifferent. He wanted Jason to like him not hate him.

  
  


Surprisingly, the first night Nico slept as soon as he hit the bed.

Unfortunately, that meant he dreamt as soon as his head hit the bed. He dreamt of Camp Half-Blood first. It was in chaos, a battle raged in the woods where Nico had played capture the flag and then had made his get-a-way. Nico watched in horror as the campers fought. He recognized a few. The Stoll brothers from the Hermes cabin. Will Solace from the Apollo cabin. The big girl, Clarisse, from Ares. The blonde girl that had fallen off the cliff was there too.

Then Nico’s eyes snagged on Percy. He was fighting beside a cyclopes and Nico watched in awe as he swung his sword. 

A voice whispered, “Camp Half-blood in ruins. Lend a hand to our greek brethren.”

The scene changed. Nico was back underground. He had spent ages under there. He watched in horror as the halls of the cavern grew narrower, threatening to crush him entirely. In front of him a ghostly figure appeared, the same one Nico had been seeing since he left camp. It had left him alone for most of his time with Lupa and Nico had almost forgotten about it. Almost.

“A soul for a soul,” it said, “You can bring back your sister. Abandon the Romans and the greeks. Help me master.”

Nico woke up and headbutted Jason Grace.

“Oww,” Jason said as he stepped back and held a hand to his forehead.

Horror filled Nico, “Jason! I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to, I swear-”

Jason shook his head. “It’s fine. I have a hard head. I get hit a lot.” he said miserably, “Are you okay?”

Nico nodded. “What are you doing here?”

“Waking you up. Rise and shine legionnaire. It’s your first day training with the legion and the first day is always the worst.

\-----

Training. Torture. Over the next few months those two words fused together in Nico's mind. Which was which? He wasn’t sure anymore. The Roman’s trained so much that everyday Nico went to bed with sore everything. And then he dreamed the same nightmare he had dreamt that first night.

He spent months at camp training with the legion but he couldn't gain full membership. Every sword he used felt wrong in his hand. No matter what weapon they gave him it was unbalanced. They had tried to teach him archery but her almost shot the instructor. He wasn't any better during the war games either, thought that might be more because the fifth legion was apparently a joke during the war games. Despite Jason being in their cohort the other cohorts seemed to think the fifth cohort was useless. 

Useless. Nico fit right in.

He was yanked out of his thoughts when heard Jason calling his names.He was a little higher in rank so they didn’t see each other much during official training. Jason had looked for Nico from the very beginning. They ate most of their meals together with one of Jason’s other friends, Dakota. Jason had helped him out with extra training from time to time. He was really patient and obviously knew a lot about sword fighting. On the weekends he took Nico into the city and showed him every crook and corner and bought him ice cream. Nico was starting to think of him as a friend which was why he had to be careful around Jason. 

“I went to see Augur,” Jason told him. “I got issued a quest.”

During the first week, Jason had explained that he got issued quests a lot. Mainly, it was to appease his father. Romans figured that the more quests Jason completed the more satisfied his dad would be. But it was also because every single Roman expected it of Jason. He had told Nico that the pressure was the worst part of being a son of Jupieter. He technically wasn’t supposed to lead quests since he wasn’t centurion but everyone turned a blind eye because they were sure that he would be centurion one day- and one day even praetor.

Nico had wondered silently how funny it was that Jason complained about being liked too much and Nico complained about being disliked. 

“That’s great.” Nico said.

“I get to take two other people,” Jason blurted out, “I already asked Dakota but you can be the third, if you want…?”

“...You’d want me to go on your quest?”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

A million reasons came up in Nico’s mind. Because he was a son of Pluto and sons of Pluto were bad luck. Because he had been in the legion for barely two months and was still on  _ probatio _ and had yet to find a sword that suited him. Because he was Nico.

“We’re friends aren't we?” Jason Grace asked with his brows knitted.

“Yeah,” Nico managed to say back.

Jason grinned. “Great. The bright side is that when we get back your probatio will be lifted.”

\-----

Nico’s dream was the same as the first night. Except at the end when the ghost appeared something different happened. 

“A soul for a soul,” it started and then it went off script; “You’re fate is sealed son of Pluto. Not even Camp Jupiter’s facade can save you from what you are. Go back to the place where it all began.”

The scene shifted and he was underground. In front of him was Percy and Annabeth and they both looked scared. Nico couldn’t help but stare a little at how even though they were scared they seemed at ease around each other. He walked toward them but then the scene shifted again. He was still underground but now he was in a room of dirt instead of a corridor.

There was a golden coffin in the middle of the room. It was glowing and it sent a chill down Nico’s spine. When it started to speak it took all of Nico’s willpower not to curl up into a ball.

“Stay at camp, Roman. None of this concerns you.” It said, “I will rise despite everyone's effort. Better to be blissfully unaware of your impending doom”

Then he woke up breathing hard and with sweat dripping down his back. It was still dark outside but one look at his clock told Nico that the sun would rise soon. He got up in hopes of taking a shower before Jason came looking for him. One his nightstand, there was a black Stygian Iron sword. Nico didn’t know how he knew what Stygian iron looked like or even what that was but he did.

He held it in his hands and marveled at how right it felt. His cheeks flushed as he thought, maybe this was a gift from Jason. Then he caught sight of the note

The note read:

_ Son, _

_ I know you will make me proud. _

_ Pluto _

Nico scowled. He marched outside with the note balled up in his hand. Once outside he tore it up and watched in satisfaction as it sunk into the ground. 

He had been working hard on that trick during the afternoons when the legion didn’t have training. It came easier to him than summoning gold or rubies, which Jason said he theoretically was supposed to do.

“Pluto’s the god of the underworld but also for the riches. So, you should be able to summon stuff like gold or metal and control the earth.” he had said.

He had not said anything about summoning the dead or ghosts yet Nico knew that if he concentrated hard enough he would be able to do both.

\----

He had lost them. Nico freaking lost them. The quest had been to take down a cyclops that was hanging around the borders and giving camp grief day and night. It was easier said than done.

Before Jason and Dakota briefed Nico on Cyclopes. They joked around the whole way there, which was far and tiring because none of them could drive. Then they had actually gotten to the cyclops lair and the mood went from 10-0 really quick.

The cyclops was huge for one. It was a fully grown Cyclop that looked like it lifted weights in it’s spare time. Nico tried not to let that bother him but when he looked at Dakota and Jason he could see they were worried.

Jason frowned and then he started planning. Nico had seen many sides to Jason before then. He had seen the sweet and fun Jason who had greeted him on his first day, had eaten dinner with him, and shown him around New Rome. He had seen the legionnaire Jason who fought concentration and ease. And in that moment, it seemed like Nico was about to meet a different version of Jason. This was Jason Grace the son of Jupiter, the future praetor. This Jason was a leader and he left no doubts that he was a roman. 

He gave them the plan, which was insane, and convinced them that they would accomplish it. He took away Nico’s fear and replaced it with Bravery.

His plan was that Nico and Dakota would distract the cyclop as long as possible. Not to fight it but also not to let themselves get caught. Jason would fly up and stab it in the eye. Then Nico and Dakota would attack from below.

“Give me a minute and then go.” Jason said. He looked at Nico for a while before he left.

The second the plan was set into motion it went bad. It just so happened that the Cyclop was in a “eat first, talk later,” kind of mood. Dakota barely had time to open his mouth before the Cyclop charged at them. Both of them rolled to the side. Out of the corner of his eye, Nico could see Jason up in the sky, the winds circling underneath him and  _ wow.  _

Nico yelped and rolled away again. The cyclop chose to go after him instead of Dakota. Jason charged at it from the top but it swatted with it's hands, barely missing Jason. Dakota was yelling something as Nico got up.

The cyclop stepped toward him and Nico managed to stab it in the foot. That only seemed to make it angrier and when Nico backed up he found he had nowhere to go.

Jason was still fighting furiously to get close to the cyclops eyes and Dakota was stabbing at the Cyclops back legs. Nico raised his own sword but the Cyclop’s free hand came down to grab him.

Nico had never wished more in his life that he could have just disappeared into the shadows-- and then he did. He stumbled backwards and felt cold hands grab him everywhere-his arms, his legs, his face. 

He felt like he was being tossed around, the hands were taking turns pulling him around. They whispered pleas of desperation and anger. They wanted to be known, they wanted to be remembered, to be avenged.

Nico wrung himself free of the shadows. He came too underground, but he didn’t care much for his surroundings. Instead, he kneeled over and vomited. Then, once he managed to crawl a few feet away from his vomit, he rolled up and took a nap.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So what follows will be brief because its just gonna be what happened during the Battle of the Labyrinth. Also the figure that Nico sees in his dream is King Minos.


End file.
